00:05Far away, in the remote top-end community of Woogala near Catherine, vulnerable residents
00:10like Junkie Rickson have been caught off guard.
00:13She told me to sign, but I didn't know, but really, what is that for?
00:21Approached by a woman she didn't know, the 67-year-old was asked to sign paperwork that
00:27she didn't understand.
00:28She was eventually driven to supported accommodation about an hour away, and alleges she was given
00:34a pouch of tobacco.
00:36She would smoke, yeah.
00:39Ms Rickson, who has limited mobility, says the carer rarely visited and didn't take her
00:44on any outings.
00:46Just sat in the room, watched TV and then come out to smoke and then back again.
00:52It's kind of like not going anywhere, just like in prison.
00:59The provider told the ABC the matter was under investigation by the regulator, but that they
01:05categorically deny all these claims.
01:08After a few days inside the home, Ms Rickson was able to call somebody to get her out.
01:13She cancelled her agreement with the woman who put her in and went back to her old carers.
01:19Her story isn't unusual.
01:24Hundreds of kilometres away, Walpuri man Floyd Rose says he saw strange behaviour from an NDIS
01:31provider, who was engaged to help his disabled mother before she passed away last year.
01:36This role is to look after her and pick her up and take some family out.
01:47He says he saw the carer give alcohol to his mother and other members of the family.
01:52Hey, why do you feel a pine grove every day with this mob?
01:56I feel my stomach, ah, it's not the right person.
02:01Bernadette Wallace has worked as an NDIS support coordinator in the NT Outback for close to
02:07a decade and says the exploitation of vulnerable residents is rife.
02:12It can be very difficult when someone has English as a second language, poor numeracy and literacy,
02:21navigating the consequences of making these decisions.
02:25I think these dodgy providers see these participants as cash cows.
02:31Disability advocates and the Darwin Community Legal Service have compiled a dossier of similar complaints.
02:38We see family members giving KFC or a $50 gift card or free transportation in order to sign that participant
02:48up.
02:49Once people have signed documents, the report found it was easy for providers to draw funds from a participant.
02:57Plans that should last a year are being drained in two months.
03:00Then people have nothing left and no way to pay for help, one anonymous Tennant Creek provider said.
03:06Another source in Darwin added they'd seen plans emptied in weeks.
03:12Here in Darwin, where the NDIS has a branch, just over 400 complaints from across the territory were lodged with
03:20the regulator last year.
03:21The Commission has told the ABC it is acting on them, citing a recent blitz in Alice Springs and Tennant
03:28Creek,
03:29where dozens of providers were visited and warrants were executed.
03:33It has advocates warning that without tougher oversight, the consequences could be dire.
03:39It's quite concerning that these providers, who are repeat offenders, continue to still operate without any sanction at all.
03:48It's going to take a death, unfortunately, in the ENT before something is physically done about addressing these complaints.
03:55Calling for change to safeguard others.
03:58..
03:59...
03:59,
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04:01,
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04:05...
04:06You
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